The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year 2236

The Struggle for Empire: A Story of the Year 2236 written by Robert William Cole and first published in 1900 is a science fiction novel. It is regarded as one of the first space operas.

Significance
It is often credited with being the first novel to introduce the concept of galactic empires, interstellar travel and fleets of starships in the thousands locked in combat.

Plot
The British Empire has colonized the nations of Africa, Asia and others on Earth, and in which the 'Anglo-Saxon race' had 'long ago absorbed the whole globe'.

The expanding Anglo-Saxon Empire of Earth then clashes with a similar empire based on Kairet, a planet in the Sirius system. Both sides have forgotten spiritual and philosophical values, and are driven by greed. Commercial rivalries escalate into a interstellar war which results in the destruction of most of the Terran fleet and the invasion of Earth.

Future technology
The novel's technology includes antigravity, interplanetary radio, television, various forms of death ray and industrial transmutation.